Puntland approves controversial livestock export deal

Puntland President Mohamud “Adde” Muse attended the ceremony alongside officials representing the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) and Saudi Arabian company, Al-Jabberi.

Confidential sources at the invite-only ceremony said representatives from Ras Al Khaimah and Al-Jabberi Company signed the deal, while President Muse played an “observer” role.

Some of the tenets of the agreement have opened up a heated debate in Puntland, where the business community is challenging the administration’s policy.

The livestock export deal, reached last month between Puntland and Al-Jabberi, effectively gives the latter company exclusive rights to export Puntland livestock to the Middle East for the next 15 years.

Traders in the northern port of Bossaso, Puntland’s commercial capital, have been demanding that changes be made to the “exclusivity” clause that gives a foreign company export rights.

They argue for the ability for “small business” to trade in livestock and fuel the region’s poor economy, instead of giving a foreign company virtual monopoly over the most vital sector of the Somali economy.

Puntland businesses are arguing that the exclusive agreement goes against the free enterprise economy renowned throughout Somalia since the collapse of the central government in 1991.

Source: Garowe Online

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